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UberSpat Gives You A Place to Spat

UberSpat gives users a way to debate an issue, collect information about the topic, and watch the nature of the debate change as more information becomes available. Arguing on the Internet is nothing new, but usually it's confined to blog comments and message boards, where the popular whim prevails regardless of the information at hand. At Uberspat, you can start an argument on any topic that interests you, make your own position clear, and then watch as other UberSpat members discuss and debate your issue in the comments. While the debate rages, you and other UberSpat members can supply articles, papers, and other information on the Web as supporting evidence for their side of the debate.

UberSpat uses a Digg-like rating system where users can submit articles and topics for debate freely and watch as the debate takes shape and evidence rolls in. More popular and heavily researched spats will rise to the top and be featured on the UberSpat front page, and UberSpat members can comment on the articles and discuss them both in the issue comments, or they can click through to visit the source of the information and read more there.

UberSpat is free to use, and anyone can open an account and start their own debates. The service was designed to create a constructive environment where people can settle debates and influence discussions by presenting evidence and information to read, rather than calling one another names and insulting their families. The idea seems solid; most of the debates already available at UberSpat have at least some supporting or dissenting articles and links with each topic. As users read through the evidence for or against a spat, they can vote on it and share their position, or add the spat to their favorites if there's a discussion they'd like to return to later.

The service is aimed at people looking for a constructive, evidence-oriented place on the Web to debate ideas and popular topics and bloggers looking to publish their position articles and blog posts in a forum that can both encourage debate and drive traffic to their sites. It's no surprise that the bulk of the discussions at UberSpat center around political issues like immigration and the 2008 Presidential campaign, social issues like domestic violence laws and civil liberties, and scientific discussions on topics like evolution and global warming.

Unfortunately, this evidence-driven debate is also where the service falls short. Just about any link provided from any blog is considered "evidence," and while those links can be rated by the user community, UberSpat is so new that community-policing of information is missing because there's no community to speak of. This leads to a number of ranting blog posts and opinion posts being listed as "evidence" to support or refute a position when in reality they're anything but, and bloggers starting spats to publicize their own blogs.

Even so, Ubspat's design encourages users to participate in the discussions at hand by providing their own opinions and evidence to influence a discussion, and as its community grows, its users will be able to low-rank opinion articles masquerading as evidence, police their own spats, and hopefully build a community that encourages rich discussion.

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